The founding members of Ticklepenny Corner, Aaron Zorn and Noah Riemer, have been playing music together in various bands since the 3rd grade. It all began with the composing of songs about hamburgers and pizza - but there seemed to be something missing. That's when they wrote their first socially active tune simply titled "Gangs". The brutally honest lyric ("Gangs, Gangs - there's several of them - Gangs, Gangs - that need to know Jesus") inspired a many 3rd grade peer to steer clear of any trouble and thus adhere to what this important band had to say.
Unfortunately (for this depraved and perverse world), Riemer and Zorn eventually abandoned such weighty themes and reverted back to writing more flippantly - y'know about girls and such. Several band names came and even more went. 2CP (Two Christian People), 3CP (When Aaron's brother joined up), The Church Chairs, The Living Bread Crumbs, Aliens, 4CP, Burning Bush and later on Rich Foot the Bill, The Frowning Euphony (in their Dark-Thesaurus-Phase) and eventually something easy and light...Ticklepenny Corner.
Upon the naming of Rich Foot the Bill, Riemer decided it was high time to ask his sister, Beth, into the band - seeing how she was getting pretty good at the violin and violins in rock bands "are always kool." Knowing this trump card would eventually and perpetually launch the band into fame and hoards of money, they embarked on their performing career (now as The Frowning Euphony) with a packed-out debut in Church of the Nazerene's basement. "I've never seen drop-ceiling-tiles shake like that before" observed an elder.
Euphonically speaking, the trio needed to turn their frowns upside down and so they added bongoist Steve Thorngate III to provide some backbeat. The bongos added so much depth they felt the need to change their name once more - this time for good. Ticklepenny Corner.
It wasn't, however, roses for the band just yet. Thorngate was not happy as the bongoist and truthfully the rest of the band was a bit tired of his showy manauevers - slapping the skins with his elbows for instance. It was time for a trap-set player. What ensued was a highly sophisticated game of musical chairs...but with instruments not chairs...so a highly sophisticated game of musical instruments. Riemer moved from guitar to drums, Thorngate from bongos to guitar and piano, Beth from violin to fiddle and Zorn from jeans to leather. All systems were go for the stage to be set for ducks to get in a row.
Enjoying mild success in opening slots (Ashley Cleveland, Keys), TC began to attract a small following. Things, however, began to become a little tense. The lead vocals were split three ways between Noah, Steve and Beth -conflict baby. Noah really wanted girls to hear him sing and Steve wanted girls to hear him sing and Beth wanted to start her own all-girl band called Pink Pretty Voices in Love. What followed was the departure of Thorngate and the entrance of drummer Bill Stangel. Riemer and Stangel bickered for several weeks about who would assume drum and guitar duties - they demonstrated each other's stubborness by both playing drums at a concert at Common Grounds in (insert any city name here). Riemer conceded the job after Stangel "skooled me" in a drum-solo-off.
The Folky Four, as Joshua Today dubbed them, began touring excessively and released their first full-length cd "From the Porch" recorded and produced by former Over the Rhine guitarist Ric Hordinski. After the cd release they picked up the final piece of the magical puzzle: back-up vocalist Kate Johnson. Kate provided two elements TC always needed: the third part of three-part harmony and a boom mic stand.
"Sunday's Best", the earthy sophmore release, was recorded in Oconomowoc, WI in the attic of an old Victorian mansion by Matt Spransy. The single "Band Strikes Up Another Tune" catapulted TC over the walls of good taste and into the kingdom of controversy. The opening line of the song apparently made some to believe Beth used the F-bomb. "That wouldn't even be euphonious!" was Zorn's retort. "She says 'fought' as in NIN's 'I wanna fought you like an animal'."
2003 found TC finally landing their first recording deal with Fundamental Records. The product: "7 Years Bad Luck" - a gem of a record produced by Minneapolis' Alex Oana. By far their most mature and coherent piece of work, "7 Years Bad Luck" was precisely that. Before the album could be released nationally, the band decided it was time to call it quits after seven years - prompting Alanis Morissette to write the mega-hit "Isn't it Ironic?"
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Vivian: Thanks so much for being our new f r i e n d on myspace! You are cool. h a h a h a. You seem nice. That's why we are approving you to be our friend. We're so glad you like SSHHIISSHHOO!!! ShiSho!
Midge: HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI WHO ARE YOU???? ARE YOU A STRANGER? SHOULD I BE TALKING TO YOU??? My dad's writing this for me so I think it's okay!!! You look like our crazy neighbors. My dad's writing everything I am saying right now... Like HEY DAD SAY THIS!!! HEY DAD SAY THAT!!! HEY DAD SAY THIS!!! I don't know what I'm saying right now... FEBREEZE!!!
Vivian: Thanks again for being our new friend on MySpace.
Midge: Well About ShiSho now. I know you really like our music. We're not famous. We're not Barbies... but we have friends. I am not on a lunchbox either. Or little coloring things. Or hats. or even keyboards. I have a lot of friends! a lot!!! like a hundred and fifty four. Well I just don't want to kill my dad because my dad is emailing this becuase I can't write. About my friends.. I got one from Iceland. One from my dad's work.
Midge: Good Bye Friend that I am sending this email too... Goodbye..and my baby....actually my toddler which is not a toddler... PS I have a sister called ya know. Good bye and that is it... good bye.
You guys are from Burlington? Did you know Tony Romo? Oh man, YOU DID!! YOU STILL DO!?! WHAT!!!! YOU PLAY MUSIC IN THE DALLAS LOCKER ROOM BEFORE EVERY GAME TO PUMP HIM UP?!?! Never would have thought.
